With rumors that Alvaro Pereira was coming in, it seemed likely that both of Patrick van Aanholt and Ryan Bertrand would be heading out on loan to get regular playing time. Michael Emenalo hinted as much yesterday, and with the window winding down the first of those loans seems to be complete. According to multiple sources, Chelsea have agreed to send Patrick van Aanholt to Wigan Athletic for the season.
Patrick van Aanholt will join Wigan Athletic on loan for the season. More on that throughout the evening.
This will be a great opportunity for van Aanholt. Wigan have Maynor Figueroa as the current incumbent left back, but there's a good chance that PvA would displace him from the starting lineup. Wigan could also use reinforcement further up on the left, so there's a good chance we'll get a look at van Aanholt in a more advanced role on the pitch. Either way, Roberto Martinez is certainly quite good at developing young talent, and he will certainly find a way to utilize the exciting young van Aanholt. Just speculating here, but I'd guess that Ryan Bertrand will now remain at Chelsea unless a deal is finalized with Porto for Pereira this evening. We'll link the official announcement from the club as soon as it's up, but that may not be until after the deadline special on Chelsea TV tonight.